New York City May Get 20% More Sea Level Rise Than Global Average ~ @TH_RSS

Areas closer to melting ice sheets will experience a smaller sea level rise than those further away. This is because ice sheets such as those on Greenland or Antarctica gravitationally attract the water. This pulls the water towards the coast, effectively making it pile up to an extent that can be measured in centimeters. If the ice begins to melt, it raises the average sea level simply by entering the sea; but the gravitational pull is now smaller, so locally the sea level may go down. "So if the Greenland sheet melts more, that's better for New York; but if Antarctica melts, that's worse for New York - and it's equally true for northwestern Europe," Professor van der Wal told BBC News.